Matt Helders‘ mum has confirmed that Arctic Monkeys are in the desert recording the follow-up to Suck It And See.

Responding to internet rumours suggesting that Arctic Monkeys are set to enter the studio for their fifth album soon and have already chosen the recording location, the drummer’s mum – Jill Helders tweeted: “I don’t know if it helps to clear things up but lads are in the desert!”

She added: “And now we start on 5th album titles!”.

According to unofficial fan Twitter account ArcticMonkeysUS, the four piece are recording the follow-up to 2011’s Suck It And See in the Joshua Tree desert in California, where they partially recorded 2009’s Humbug with co-producer Josh Homme of Queens Of The Stone Age.

The speculation has led to #ArcticMonkeys5thAlbum trending in the UK this evening (September 17). Speaking about where the information came from, ArcticMonkeysUS tweeted: “info comes from the top. I won’ lose sleep if u dont believe it but you cant speak to my credibility. When have i been wrong?”

Earlier this year, the band’s frontman Alex Turner told Artrocker about their plans for their fifth album. He said: “I think we’re going to go the direction of those heavier tunes. We did ‘R U Mine?’, and I think that’s where it’s going to be at for us for the next record.”

Contrary to the Joshua Tree rumour, Turner then added that he hoped the band would record in their home city of Sheffield, saying: “It would be nice to record in Sheffield, which we haven’t done for a while. I was living in New York, and that’s where I wrote a lot of those [‘Suck It And See’] songs…”